Authentic B2B Content Comes from Within (Your Company)

A brief look at how the most effective content comes from your people and connections.

As a B2B writer, I feel compelled to point this out: You likely don’t realize what a great resource you are for your content.

Our clients are brilliant. They are business owners, thought leaders, marketing gurus and product experts. There is a wealth of high-quality information to be mined for content creation within their brains, businesses and networks. But they’re also busy. And so are their employees and customers. 

Yet, when they have a moment to chat with us, the time is always well spent because we reap so much value and create such authentic content.

It’s worth the time for great content.

We value every minute spent in discussion with our clients – and anyone else in their organization or network who takes the time to speak with us. It’s in these discussions that we find the best resources for authentic content. When your content originates from within your company, it’s a more accurate reflection of your value proposition, showcases your expertise and differentiates your offer in crowded markets. 

We understand that, in business, time is not free. We make the most out of our interviews, whether with executives, managers, sales professionals or customers. In thirty minutes to an hour, we often gain enough fodder for multiple articles. From there, we can repurpose those articles into ebooks, guest posts, social posts and testimonials to continually expand value. 

You’ll be surprised what we can do – thanks to you.

Often, the people we speak with don’t realize they already have the makings of excellent content at their fingertips or on the tips of their tongues. 

For example, I’ve found salespeople have incredibly organized and thorough responses to my questions. That’s an inherent part of their skillset. They sell your product or service every day, verbally and passionately, and have a deep understanding of what you do and don’t offer. 

Thought leaders and innovators are also organized and thorough, but most just don’t have the time to sit down and put their thoughts into a digestible framework. They’re superb public speakers, and their ideas are boundary-pushing. When I turn in an article based on one of our conversations, they may not even remember that the most thought-provoking sentences in the piece came directly from them. They give me the praise, and I let them know: “This was all you. I just made it pretty*.”

Speaking with clients’ customers always gives me a realistic perspective on how a product or service is used, what value customers find in it and how it solved one or more pain points. Frequently, those customers reveal new types of value and dispel misconceptions about their needs and interests, sharpening their persona for ourselves and for our clients.

*Of course, there’s far more to B2B writing than this. The point is: My content wouldn’t be nearly as strong without your input.

Remember dictation?

There’s a chapter in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic in which she describes fellow author Brené Brown’s writing process; how it was torturous and painful. Brown is an excellent verbal communicator, but for her, writing books was like pulling teeth. Then, Brown decided to take a different approach. She went to a beach house with close friends and essentially “dictated” her next book to them by talking to them about what she wanted to say. It turned out splendidly for her and was much more fun.

Dictation. The concept isn’t new by any means. It’s very old. And it’s very effective.

When I read this chapter in Big Magic, I thought of the brilliant individuals I’ve interviewed over the years; how the knowledge rolled off their tongue, ready for packaging into content, without them realizing what they’d done. They have strong skills in public speaking, sales, delivering information and understanding and believing in their business. 

I just help them get it on paper.*

*See note above.

You have the ingredients; we just make a killer sandwich.

The heart of the best content I’ve ever written in my career has often come from conversations and interviews. The best way for me to understand the important, relevant aspects of a topic is to speak with people who deal with that subject every day — people who live and breathe that subject. They have the essential ingredients for quality, custom content.

Because of these interviews, I can speak directly to customer pain points and industry issues, making your content highly valuable for current customers and leads. This is also how I make your content yours.

Here are a few places where we find content gold for our clients:

• Discussions with leadership 
• Interviews with sales people and marketers
• Interviews with our clients’ customers 
• Internal and external materials and resources (think slide decks, sales materials, flyers, emails)
• FAQs from your customers we can answer with content
• Company webinars and videos

Are you interested in unlocking the authentic content that’s already simmering, waiting to be heard and written within your organization? Get in touch with us at info@3aspensmedia.com.